Through the Storm
by Aunna
Summary: Lightning has officially begun the healing process and Doc is his loving father figure. Tears are shed, fears are faced, and laughter erupts from mistakes, but it only takes one thing to tear apart a family. But sometimes, making it through the storm strengthens bonds and makes facing the impossible a little easier. Sequel to Child in Need.


**Author's Note:**

**Yeah! I'm so glad I finished Child in Need before the New Year! So, this is Through the Storm. This story is basically sort of like my other story Raised by Monkeys, if any of you like SRMTHFG and has read it. There will be laughter and there will be tears and there will most definitely be times where you might do both at the same time, but I really hope you like it! So, let the fluff begin!**

**Chapter One: Birthday Wishes**

_Lightning's P.o.V._

Once again the stupid sunlight just has to wake me up from my dreams. I don't like waking up because my Mommy is always in my dreams and when I do wake up she isn't there. Like right now, before the sun came my Mommy was hugging me and telling me how brave I was for standing up to Dad… Wait, I don't call him Daddy anymore, I call him Alan. Well, she was telling how brave I was for standing up to him and how she was so proud of me. Then poof! Here comes the sun and then Mommy is gone again for the day.

I opened my eyes and the clock Uncle Doc gave me says it's almost seven thirty. Man, why can't I sleep in like Mater? Uncle Doc let me stay the night a couple of days after I got out the hospital and he slept until ten! Well, at least I got to hang out with Sheriff for a little while; he was really nice to me and told me a bunch of stories about him when he was little. He even made blueberry waffles when Mater woke up! And he put whipped cream on them!

I put on my glasses and got out of bed. I pulled Popsicle out from under the blankets and grabbed the clothes that Uncle Doc had pulled out for me last night. He said that he had something special for me and that I couldn't wear my purple dinosaur shirt to wherever we were going. I don't really understand why, I wear my dino shirts everywhere! Mater does too, though the dinos are hard to see because his overalls cover them up.

I got cleaned up in the bathroom and came out wearing what Uncle Doc had picked out. It was one of the first clothes he had ever got me; a bright green shirt with strips and a pair of black jeans with green socks. I liked them; I just really like my shirts with pictures on them. Alan never let me wear shirts like that.

Uncle Doc was waiting for me in the kitchen. I smiled when I smelled food cooking. I could smell Uncle Doc's coffee, eggs, what might have been waffles or pancakes, and bacon. Uncle Doc never makes bacon; he says it's bad for you and that I shouldn't eat it. I don't really understand it, if it tastes good, shouldn't be good for you. It's almost the same way with broccoli, it taste so yucky but Uncle Doc says I got to eat it because it's good for me and it'll make me grow up big and strong. Doesn't mean I got to like eating them though.

Uncle Doc smiled when I came into the kitchen. I could see a plate for me with eggs, a waffle, and bacon. "Morning Squirt." Uncle Doc said, turning back to his coffee and his newspaper, "Did you sleep well?"

"You know I did Uncle Doc." I said, hopping up onto the chair. I couldn't exactly climb onto it, not with my broken arm.

Breakfast was really good, especially since Uncle Doc doesn't like to cook very often. We always go to Flo's and then I hang out with Mater and Sally while Uncle Doc catches up some doctor stuff. But he always picks me up at seven and then we spend the rest of the day together. He even tells me bedtime stories about Mommy and him when they were kids.

"Are you done Squirt?"

"Yes Uncle Doc."

He smiled and I put my dishes in the sink. We would do the dishes later tonight, just like we do every day. "What's so special about today Uncle Doc?" I asked, not really knowing why I had to get dressed in what he decided I should wear.

Uncle Doc spit out his coffee and looked at me like I had grown another head. "You're joking with me, right Squirt?" he asked, standing up and cleaning up the coffee.

"I really don't know what's going on today!"

"Are you sure you don't know?"

"Yes!"

"Lightning, what's the date today?"

"September thirtieth."

"And when is your birthday?"

"September thirtieth."

"So what are we going to celebrate today?"

"I don't know; what are we celebrating today?"

Uncle Doc sighed and put me on his shoulders. "It's your birthday Lightning." He said, putting me on the couch so he could grab my shoes. "We're celebrating your birthday buddy."

When does anyone celebrate my birthday? I know that Mommy used to tell me happy birthday when she was alive and that she used to sneak in a little piece of cake or, if that wasn't available, she'd bring me a snack cake from the corner store in town. I thought Uncle Doc wouldn't want to do that sort of thing. "You don't have to Uncle Doc." I said, looking at the floor, "I don't need anything. I've got you and that's all I want."

"Come on Lightning," He said, "every kid deserves a birthday. Plus, I don't think anyone's going to take no for an answer once you see your surprise!"

I've got a surprise! "What's the surprise Uncle Doc?" I asked, jumping off the couch, "What's the surprise?"

"I can't tell you or it won't be surprise!" He said, laughing, "Now, come on Lightning. I've got something to show you before we find everyone else."

_Doc's P.o.V._

I can't believe I'm going through with this, returning to the place that shunned me after I had wrecked. I had decided that, before I took Lightning to his surprise party, I was going to take him to the race track. I was sick just thinking about going back there.

Two days before the court case, I had shown him the room where all of my racing mementos were. He had been asking nonstop about where I had met McQueen and why I hated him so much. Apparently McQueen had always been ranting about me, that after he made the 'mistake' of 'accidently' hitting me, his career had went down the toilet. Then Lightning told me that he used to go looking for McQueen's career in the toilets every day and I couldn't help but laugh. Children always do the most ridiculous things.

I told Lightning things about racing I had never told anyone before. The fear before the flag falls, the adrenaline as everyone races around the track, the joy of winning the race, and the recognition of defeat. He had stared at the newspaper article about my wreck for a good ten minutes before he looked at me and said he was going to win a race for me.

I hadn't been expecting that. Why would he want to race, the only two racers he knew were a man who had beat him his entire life and the other was the one who had been kicked out of racing? How could he see any good in a sport that would shun you for one screw-up? Then he said words I would never forget.

_"I'm going to prove I'm not useless Uncle Doc. I'm going to win that race for you and prove that we're not useless."_

That was why I was taking him to the race today. I wanted him to see what the races were all about. To see how the fans of racing were, to see how fierce the competition was. I know he won't be racing in the circuit for a while, but I want him to know what he's getting into before it's too late.

So, that's how we ended up here, watching the racers fly around the track. Lightning had already developed a liking for #43, Strip 'The King' Weathers. He had been a rookie a few years after I crashed and had been taking the racing world by storm ever since. It was no wonder Lightning liked him so much, he probably wanted to be just like him!

"Look at them go Uncle Doc!" Lightning shouted above the noise. "They're going as fast as Sheriff was that day that he was chasing Alan! You used to do these races too?"

"You know I did buddy." I said, ruffling his hair, "But, let's save the rest of that talk for home, okay buddy?"

"Sure thing Uncle Doc!"

I don't remember how long it took before Weathers crossed the finish line, but it was long enough for me to nod off. I almost shot out of my seat when Lightning started shouting about how Weathers had barely taken the lead from #36, Malcolm McCombs. I smiled at the fact that he was enjoying himself. I highly doubt he's going to be like this next week when he has to start school.

_A Few Hours Later at Flo's Diner…_

It was obvious that Lightning had no clue what to do at a birthday party, much less at his own. He had jumped nearly five feet into the air when everyone shouted 'surprise' and nearly fainted at the thought of have cake and presents. But he was smiling, so that meant I must have been doing something right.

He didn't believe me when I told him that the presents were his. The boy kept on saying that they couldn't be his; he never got presents before on his birthday. When he did open them he was reluctant to play with them until Mater joined him. His favorite gift seemed to be a toy cheetah that quickly became Speedy. For the rest of the day Lightning carried around that little thing and ran home to grab Popsicle so that they could be friends like Mater and him.

As the party wore on Lightning became more relaxed. He laughed with Sally and Mater when Sarge fell face first into the first cake Flo had baked for Lightning and was polite when Flo gave him a piece of the second cake. He listened to Ramone's stories about the good old days and didn't even flinch when Fillmore started playing his music on full blast. Sheriff had him shut it off because it was time for the kids to go to bed.

When he said that both Mater and Sally moan and begged to be able to stay up a little longer, but Lightning didn't. He just picked up Speedy and Popsicle and fell asleep on my lap. He was exhausted and that at least showed me that he had a good day.

I just hope he doesn't come home crying on his first day of school.


End file.
